Latvia: Food prices to rise less than 4% in 2024: central bank

Food prices in Latvia will grow by less than 4% in 2024, Ieva Opmane, economist at the Bank of Latvia, forecast, LSM reports. The price hike will be higher than average inflation but much less than in 2023 and 2022, she said. The rise in food prices will depend on consumer income, energy prices, harvests, and supply chains, Opmane explained. Meanwhile, Henriks Danusevics, board chairman of the Latvian Traders Association (LTA), noted that the price of most food items, except for vegetables, dropped substantially in 2023. He expects food prices to continue falling in 2024, except for dairy and meat products. Latvia’s Competition Council is due to present a study on food retail prices soon.